1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a ball pitching machine. More particularly, this invention relates to a machine and integrated machine computer system that can pitch any type of pitched or hit ball; as for practicing batters, infielders, outfielders, tennis players, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art has seen the development of a wide variety of types of apparatuses for simulating the flight of a ball; as thrown by the human hand, as hit by a baseball bat, tennis racquet or other accessory. From the earliest pitchers in the game of baseball, observers have studied the paths of balls thrown by the human hand, arm, and body. Such observations are steeped in controversy. The physics of ball flight however, requires that the ball leave the hand from an initial position with an initial velocity in a given direction and with a given spin rotation about an axis oriented in space, fly through space acted upon by the medium (air) through which it travels, and be subject to gravity. Some of these variables the pitcher can change from pitch to pitch or maintain the same. It has long been an objective to attempt to duplicate subsets of these variables by mechanical means in order to give batting practice without fatigueing the pitching arms of pitchers and the like. Moreover, it is desirable to give fielding practice with balls along the ground or in the air and combinations thereof to infield and outfield players. A search through the prior art and the marketplace for machines or systems that can mimic the human arm and hand fails to reveal a single complete system that can provide spin about all axes relative to the direction of travel of the ball. The prior art machines have only been able to either (1) pitch a ball spinning with the spin axis in the plane normal to the direction of travel or (2) spin about the direction of travel. No prior art machine could make a change between the two mentioned modes of spin. Most importantly, no prior art machine can place the axis of spin in all the possible orientations with respect to the direction of travel.
Another disadvantage of the prior art machines is that the direction of the flight of the ball was not well defined from pitch to pitch, being strongly a function of the expertise of the operator who operated the machine and intrinsically related to the design of the machine. Moreover, the prior art machines could not orient the seams of the ball; and, thus, the ball in different positions caused erratic performance of the machine in throwing the ball from the output of the ball to the point of impact.
Another disadvantage of the prior art machines is the difficulty of adjusting the machines when initially placing the machines into a service position.
A major disadvantage of the prior art machines has been the lack of ability to predict the flight path of the ball when the pitches are changed, as by changing a variable. The existing machines are primarily employed to pitch the same pitch repeatedly once they are set up to do so. The prior art machines, rather than provide competitive pitching, actually degrade the quality of the practice.
Another disadvantage of the prior art machines is they cannot release the ball from different positions of height and width to simulate right-hand, left-hand, sidearm, or overhead pitching.
From the foregoing it can be seen that the prior art machines failed to provide the following desirable features:
1. The pitching machine should be able to cast a ball to simulate any type of flight of a ball, including but not being limited to thrown balls, batted balls and struck tennis balls.
2. The machine should be able to pitch any curve or spin, including spin about the direction of the flight (called rifle spin) of the ball.
3. The machine should be able to simulate right-hand, left-hand, sidearm, overhead, or underarm delivery.
4. The machine should be able to vary the height of the initial delivery of the ball so that the batter can learn to compensate for such differences in flight of the ball.
5. The machine should be able to vary the altitude angle of the trajectory of the ball for simulating batted balls to infield or outfield practice, as well as pitched balls to the batter.
6. The machine should be able to vary the azimuth angle to compensate for the spin and curve and thereby hit a target area.